Germany’s Ministry of Transportation has lifted an embargo on the shipment of luggage on German charter aeroplanes heading to and from Sharm El-Sheikh Airport, regarded as the prelude to restoring flights to the South Sinai airport, according to a statement from Egypt’s Foreign Affairs Ministry.
Egypt’s Ambassador to Germany Badr Abdulaty said Germany’s decision reflects Egypt’s commitment to applying all recommended international security standards at its airports, particularly in Sharm El-Sheikh.
Since the first quarter (Q1) of 2016, 170,000 German tourists have visited Egypt.
The decision to renewed luggage transports is based on a recommendation by German experts that reviewed security at Sharm El-Sheikh Airport in March.
Egypt has also recently passed an audit by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
In April, a delegation of Russian experts reviewed security measures in Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada airports following their security review of Cairo International Airport in January.
Several international delegations have reviewed security procedures in Egyptian airports since the downing of a Russian commercial jet in Sinai last October. All 224 people on board were killed, the majority of whom were Russian nationals.
In November, Russia suspended all commercial flights to and from Egypt, pending the completion of report on the status of security procedures at Egyptian airports.
Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the incident, purporting that they had planted an explosive device on the plane.
Egypt initially declared that there was no evidence that the plane had been brought down by a “terrorist act”. However, Moscow said terrorists were responsible for the deaths of those onboard, after its investigation committee found explosive material in the wreckage.
